MUSKEGON, MI – About
30 people gathered for a debate viewing party at the CIO Hall, located at 490
W. Wetern, on Oct. 3.

The event was sponsored by local organized labor groups and
organized by Michigan for Obama and Protecting Working Families, a group that
supports Proposal 2, which would amend the Michigan Constitution to include
collective bargaining rights.

The CIO Hall viewing party began at 7 p.m., two hours before
the debate began.

A clock on the flat-screen TV at the bar counted down the
minutes until the debate began, while attendees – many of who were affiliated
with the organizing groups – socialized over pizza, drinks and cupcakes
decorated with Obama's campaign logo on top.

Many at the party said they came to support the President.

Nana Kratochvil from Muskegon called herself an "ardent
Obama supporter." She said she was looking forward to watching the debate.

"It's always good to see an exchange of ideas," she said.

Others said they came to hang out with like-minded people. Paul
Okerlund from Muskegon Heights said he enjoyed being able to watch the debate
and have conversations about it.

"I thought it was good," he said about the event, "because
there was a lot of socializing before the debate started."

As the start of the debate drew near, most of the attendees
moved to a room where a projection screen had been set up on top of a dais, and
watched the debate via a CNN livestream. Others decided to stay in the front
room and watch the debate there.

Either way, the event's casual vibe quickly changed once the
debate began. The attendees sat silent and still, engrossed in the debate
unfolding before them.

They hung on every word, and mostly reacted to the
candidates without a sound. They nodded their heads in agreement when Obama
spoke, and their faces betrayed skepticism when it was Romney's turn to speak.

Occasionally though, hot-button topics broke the group's silence.

When Romney gave his rebuttal to Obama's statements about
his health care plan, Sarah Samuelson, one of the event's organizers sighed loudly,
while Kratochvil turned away and buried her head in her hand. Edeltress Wallace
from Muskegon tensed up as she watched Romney speak.

And when Obama responded that the plan "was a Republican
idea," a viewer gave a thumbs up.

As one might expect, many at the event said Obama did well.

"I think he was more substantive," Samuelson said about
Obama's performance.

She said she was happy at how the viewing party turned out.

"I think it went really well," she said. "I thought it was
nice that there were a lot of different people from different backgrounds."

She said the group might host viewing parties for the next
two debates, which will take place on Oct. 16 and 22.

Republican leaders said no Republican-supported debate watch
parties were planned in Muskegon that night.